Impact Report 2025-2026
Each year, the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (CAHSS) Impact Report highlights the contributions of students and faculty, with the support of alumni and donors, toward our mission of fostering curiosity and creativity in a complex and changing world. This year’s report covers the most notable achievements at the College in the 2024-2025 academic year.
A Note from Dean Byrne
Our annual impact report serves as a narrative of our progress, showcasing faculty achievements, student excellence, and philanthropic impacts. Without the financial generosity of our CAHSS donors and alumni, many of these efforts would be stifled or impossible.
Thank you,
Sahara Byrne
Dean, College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
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Two Spanish Students Win Prestigious Fulbright Scholarships
Two students in the DU Spanish program credit faculty mentorship and hands-on learning for helping them earn one of the most competitive scholarships in the world. -
From Hong Kong to the Governor’s Office: The Unexpected Places CAHSS Takes You
From the moment Emerson Fox arrived at the University of Denver, everything felt new. Fox grew up in Hong Kong, nearly 7,500 miles from Denver, and crossed the Pacific Ocean to begin her undergraduate journey in the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (CAHSS). -
Political Science Senior and Gymnastics Captain Cecilia Cooley Balances Policy and Performance
For Cecilia Cooley, a senior in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS) pursuing a degree in political science and captain of the University of Denver (DU) gymnastics team, balance is more than a goal - it’s a way of life.
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Remy Le Boeuf Wins Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition
Remy Le Boeuf, Chair of Jazz & Commercial Music at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music, has won the 2026 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for his work with Nordkraft Big Band, featuring vocalist Danielle Wertz. -
Lights, Camera, Purpose: Joe Brown on Teaching Film That Matters
For Joe Brown, associate professor in the Department of Media, Film & Journalism Studies (MFJS) at the University of Denver (DU), film is a key storytelling tool because of its impact on people. -
CAHSS Communication Studies Professor’s Classes Foster Interpersonal Connections, Build Real-World Skills
According to Suter, communication studies classes extend theory beyond the classroom through courses in collaboration, negotiation, argumentation and public speaking.
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SASSY Award Offers CAHSS Studio Arts Seniors Real-World Skills Working Artists Need
When Alumna Patricia Aaron (MFA ’98) earned her MFA in studio arts with an emphasis on painting with Professor Deborah Howard and sculpture taught by the late Lawrence Argent and later taught sculpture, she noticed something about the undergraduates she worked with. -
This Anthropology Alumna Is Putting the World's Cultural Heritage in Your Hands
Whitney Peterson's thesis research at DU led her to CyArk, where she uses 3D technology to make cultural heritage sites free and accessible to anyone with a screen. -
Driven by Purpose: How DU Shaped Aliyah Williams' Path Towards a Doctoral Degree
Meet Aliyah Williams, a 2021 alumna of the University of Denver, who double-majored in psychology and criminology and minored in political science, part of the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (CAHSS). Williams is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in counseling psychology at the University of Akron in Ohio.
Philanthropic Impact
The College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (CAHSS) has raised $21.427 million in philanthropic support this year from alumni, parents and friends of CAHSS and DU.
This year’s philanthropic support for CAHSS is part of DU’s new capital campaign, The Denver Difference, which was launched in April 2024 with a goal of $1 billion to support student scholarships, faculty research, new programs and initiatives across campus.
Highlights from the 2025–26 academic year include:
Scholarship support of more than $3.3 million to help talented students to afford a DU education and a CAHSS major or graduate degree.
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Student internships, research, and travel experiences benefitted from nearly $100,000 in new funding, including funding for paid student internships over the summer.
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More than $10 million in gifts of art to support the growing University Art Collection, including seven outdoor sculptures from the Denver Art Museum and funds to renovate the photography lab.
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Department-specific gifts, including...
- $50,000 for the Center for Art Collection Ethics summer museum training program
- $50,000 for the Asian Studies program
- $40,000 for students to do fieldwork at the Amache National Park
- $100,000 for the Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society and Beck Archives
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New DU Photo Lab Honors Legacy of Alumnus Duane Michals
In recognition of the late alumnus and renowned photographer Duane Michals’s (BA ’53) extraordinary artistic work, sensibility, and generosity, the University of Denver's College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (CAHSS) will name its newly renovated photo lab/darkroom, slated to open in spring 2027, in his honor. -
New Grant Brings Indigenous Knowledge to the Core of a DU Education
The University of Denver (DU) has received a $500,000 Mellon Foundation grant to integrate Indigenous knowledge, languages, and ways of knowing into its core curriculum. This three-year grant supports a transformative model for higher education, ensuring that Indigenous perspectives are no longer treated as peripheral but as central to the higher education experience.
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Hannah Thompson
Director of Alumni Engagement
Jennifer Garner
Executive Director of Development
